Schiit Happened: The Story of the World's Most Improbable Start-Up
Feb 11, 2019 at 5:20 PM Post #43,741 of 145,576
I remember my old Decca,not the Gold one however, as very vivid, nothing wishy-washy about the sound. I wonder what the price on the Decca's is now? I've been blown away by the increased prices for cables and cartridges I've seen in mags like Audio Advisor. I remember my Decca (90's vintzge) was a premium but nothing like I've seen of late. Fortunately I'm all CD so I can keep my wallet in my back pocket..
 
Feb 11, 2019 at 5:29 PM Post #43,742 of 145,576
I remember my old Decca,not the Gold one however, as very vivid, nothing wishy-washy about the sound. I wonder what the price on the Decca's is now? I've been blown away by the increased prices for cables and cartridges I've seen in mags like Audio Advisor. I remember my Decca (90's vintzge) was a premium but nothing like I've seen of late. Fortunately I'm all CD so I can keep my wallet in my back pocket..

Cheapest one on needle doctor (for thing that popped up when I was looking) is around $950. The others are all over a grand.

As for being all CD, there are definitely some pretty pricey transports out there. I am fine with vinyl, but I have yet to get into those four digit prices. Yet.
 
Feb 11, 2019 at 7:20 PM Post #43,744 of 145,576
Cheapest one on needle doctor (for thing that popped up when I was looking) is around $950. The others are all over a grand.

As for being all CD, there are definitely some pretty pricey transports out there. I am fine with vinyl, but I have yet to get into those four digit prices. Yet.

My 2 transports were $500 and $800 respectively with AES and all the other bell and whistle outputs, I don't think a multi-thousand dollar transport will sound any better but if anyone wants to send me one I'll let them know what I think of its perf versus my "budget" boxes. But I am curious to see what Schiit one will be.
 
Feb 11, 2019 at 7:32 PM Post #43,745 of 145,576
Re: Modi Multibit update.

I recently received my Modi Multibit back from having its DSP updated for $35. I don't know how they updated it exactly. But I will say that the 8-pin DIP in the socket is not the Analog Devices SHARC DSP chip. The SHARC chip is the largest square chip on the bottom of the board and it is surface mounted with what looks like about 96 or 100 pins. Removing and replacing it would be cost prohibitive.

My Modi came back with the same enclosure that I returned it in. I can't confirm if the entire board was swapped or some other means was used to update it. Conceivably they could update the Modi DSP via the USB port.

Edit: Props to Schiit for updating a product that is not advertised as being updatable.
The 8-pin DIP in the socket is the EPROM with the firmware - the programs, filters etc. that run on that powerful SHARC processor. There is no need to replace the processor. They either replace the 8-pin DIP or reprogram it.
 
Feb 11, 2019 at 7:34 PM Post #43,746 of 145,576
Ok. Cool. The pictures were too blurry on schiit.com for me to make out what that chip was.

Edit: Ha this was my 404 post.
 
Feb 11, 2019 at 8:36 PM Post #43,749 of 145,576
Ok. Cool. The pictures were too blurry on schiit.com for me to make out what that chip was.

Edit: Ha this was my 404 post.
404 - chip not found?
 
Feb 11, 2019 at 9:18 PM Post #43,750 of 145,576
IMO

Easy enough to build your own dust cover out of wood I would think. Or buy one of VPI's dust covers if they fit.

I think the Sol is aimed at those who already have experience with vinyl and likely have extra cartridges. I have an AT-120 (a Bday gift) and the stock cart (stored) as well as a MP-110 mounted. I took the time to learn how to set up the table and align the cart. Was it easy? No, frankly it was a pain in the schiithole, but I learned a lot. People opting for the Sol will likely be equipped to set it up (I have a cheap force measuring device, an alignment chart, etc) or will pay someone to come set it up for them.

If/when I get a Sol I'll probably opt for another Nagaoka with the MP-150.

Or throw a kitchen towel over it, works like a charm. I have a Nagaoka MP-110 and an Ortofon 2M Red. Can't wait to try them with a Sol.
 
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Feb 12, 2019 at 2:23 AM Post #43,751 of 145,576
Or throw a kitchen towel over it, works like a charm. I have a Nagaoka MP-110 and an Ortofon 2M Red. Can't wait to try them with a Sol.
That Nagaoka MP-110 is a fantastic cartridge. I have the older MP-11 version. I'm not sure what other $100 USD cart really comes close. Excellent tracking; a balanced response without any harshness or brightness; a solid, punchy "meat on the bones" presentation, but also quite revealing. The midrange reproduction is particularly superb. Vocals have an organic, engaging presence. Without naming names, the MP-11/MP-110 I would say, is in some meaningful ways superior to a few $300-$500 USD range cartridges I have owned.
 
Feb 12, 2019 at 2:53 AM Post #43,752 of 145,576
Yes the London Decca is not cheap, but I have never heard any cartridge that can match the sound or even come close. So lively, so direct. As second (and cheaper) option I would suggest The Denon DL103r

denon_dl-103r_element.jpg
 
Feb 12, 2019 at 5:30 AM Post #43,753 of 145,576
The CD-200 is a very good but very inexpensive CD player.I bought mine a year ago for $220USD, and it has been flawless in performance.
Sam, how is the operational speed of the Tascam? Opening and loading is fast?
 
Feb 12, 2019 at 6:42 AM Post #43,754 of 145,576
Yes the London Decca is not cheap, but I have never heard any cartridge that can match the sound or even come close. So lively, so direct. As second (and cheaper) option I would suggest The Denon DL103r


London Decca, that was the name, 103 sounds familiar too but mine was probably an earlier model. DL103"D"! LOL! Sold all my vinyl in early, 2004, left high end audio all together, used my Sony Walkman and CD/DVD combi player for my CD collection until Jan of 2016 when I got back into hi-er-fi. Took the Yggdrasil 15 day challenge after auditioning about 7 other TOTL DACs in May 2016. Never looked back. When I wanted to set up a 2nd rig in my bedroom late last year I just flat out ordered a B ("2"?) model.I'm often surprised at how much better my CD's sound. Improvements in phones and other links in the chain probably help as well.
 
Feb 12, 2019 at 7:18 AM Post #43,755 of 145,576
That Nagaoka MP-110 is a fantastic cartridge. I have the older MP-11 version. I'm not sure what other $100 USD cart really comes close. Excellent tracking; a balanced response without any harshness or brightness; a solid, punchy "meat on the bones" presentation, but also quite revealing. The midrange reproduction is particularly superb. Vocals have an organic, engaging presence. Without naming names, the MP-11/MP-110 I would say, is in some meaningful ways superior to a few $300-$500 USD range cartridges I have owned.

Cartridge performance have certain details (as digital reproduction have others) that can change the results.

We can talk about 2 big aspects: the mechanical compatibility with the tonearm and the electrical compatibility with the Phono preamp.

If one or both are compromised ... You're not listening the cartridge.

Over that goes the right adjustment of the cartridge: vtf, vta, tracking, ...

Digital have others aspects, of course, many times i saw people listening to digital music with a Notebook using Windows without asio or wasapi, for example.
 

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